Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
Prayāga-māhātmya — The Greatness of Prayāga and the Discipline of Pilgrimage
इति श्रीकूर्मपुराणे षट्साहस्त्र्यां संहितायां पूर्वविभागे त्रयस्त्रिशो ऽध्यायः ऋषय ऊचुः माहात्म्यमविमुक्तस्य यथावत् तदुदीरितम् / इदानीं तु प्रयागस्य माहात्म्यं ब्रूहि सुव्रत
iti śrīkūrmapurāṇe ṣaṭsāhastryāṃ saṃhitāyāṃ pūrvavibhāge trayastriśo 'dhyāyaḥ ṛṣaya ūcuḥ māhātmyamavimuktasya yathāvat tadudīritam / idānīṃ tu prayāgasya māhātmyaṃ brūhi suvrata
Sa gayon, sa Śrī Kūrma Purāṇa, sa Saṃhitā na may anim na libong śloka, sa Pūrva-bhāga—nagtatapos ang ika-33 kabanata. Nagsalita ang mga rishi: “Ang kadakilaan ng Avimukta ay naipahayag nang wasto ayon sa katotohanan. Ngayon, O ikaw na may marangal na panata, ipahayag mo sa amin ang kadakilaan ng Prayāga.”
The sages (Ṛṣayaḥ)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
This verse does not directly define Ātman; it frames a tīrtha-focused inquiry, moving from Avimukta (Kāśī) to Prayāga, implying that sacred places support inner purification that culminates in Self-knowledge taught elsewhere in the Purāṇa.
No specific yogic technique is described in this verse; it introduces a shift to Prayāga-māhātmya, where pilgrimage, vows (vrata), and ritual purity function as preparatory disciplines aligned with dharma and spiritual practice.
Indirectly: Avimukta (strongly Śaiva, associated with Kāśī) is honored within the Kūrma Purāṇa (a Vaiṣṇava frame through Lord Kūrma), reflecting the text’s characteristic Shaiva–Vaishnava synthesis in valuing both sacred geographies.